Premier League club Chelsea is being sold to a consortium fronted by American sports investor Todd Boehly, ending 19 years of ownership and lavish investment by Roman Abramovich until the Russian oligarch was sanctioned and forced to offload it.
The sale price of £2.5 billion (US$3.1 billion) is the most lucrative ever for a sports team worldwide, but Abramovich cannot receive the proceeds, which he hopes will go to a foundation for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
A further £1.75 billion is committed to be invested in the reigning FIFA Club World Cup winners.
Chelsea yesterday said terms for the buyout of the west London club had been agreed with a consortium that also features Mark Walter, who is also part of the Dodgers group, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and funding from private-equity firm Clearlake Capital.
The Premier League must approve them as the new ownership and the British government has to sign off the new under the terms of the license that allows Chelsea to continue operating as a business through May 31 while it is one of Abramovich’s frozen assets.
Abramovich has said he would write off loans of more than £1.5 billion to Chelsea, but that has been complicated by the sanctions that were put in place by the British government as part of a crackdown on wealthy Russians with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion in Ukraine in February.
Chelsea still expects the sale to be completed this month.
“Proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 percent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich,” Chelsea said in a statement.
Boehly was in London to attend Chelsea’s Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are third in the standings with four games remaining, with the title out of reach, but Champions League qualification closer to being secured.
Chelsea has the smallest and most dated stadium of the Premier League’s most successful clubs, with plans for a rebuild of the 41,000-capacity venue put on hold by Abramovich in 2018 as British-Russian diplomatic tensions deepened.
Chelsea said that the £1.75 billion committed would be in funding investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy and the women’s team, who have a shot at winning their league title today.
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